Chapter 9 RULE #8 Don’t make a scene.
Chapter nine
ROMAN
I tried to ignore it. The small thud I felt when she almost said “I love you,” and she pulled it back.
It was just a contract. It shouldn’t have hurt me, but it did.
Maybe I was being dumb. I mean, we’ve only known each other for almost two weeks.
I like her a lot. In fact, I was looking over the contract to make sure I could continue dating her after this.
I run my hand through my hair and pull it at the root. What the hell am I even doing?
I hear snapping. Blinking rapidly, I see Liam standing on the fitting platform. “How do I look?”
“You look good. The suit fits well,” I reply. It’s Christmas Eve and the day before the wedding.
Liam tugs at the lapels of his white tux and turns to the mirror.
My father stands next to me. “You don’t look bad yourself.”
I look down at the black tuxedo. “I am not a fan of bow ties.”
“You never were, even as a kid,” my dad says.
I look in the mirror in front of us. I am literally my dad. Same face, same green eyes, but I am an inch taller. But he was me in my sixties.
At least I would look good at that age.
“Maybe next year, I will be doing this for you and Elle,” he comments.
I shrug because I don’t even know what will be happening after Christmas Day. The contract would be over, and then what?
A heavy hand hits my shoulder. “Listen to a man who has been married and been through a lot.”
I think of Mom and my grandfather, him going through a lot.
“It doesn’t matter how long you are with someone, just that it works. You love them, and they love you.”
I squint, wondering what he knows. “How do you know you love someone?”
My dad pulls me in closer. “Your mom’s flaws don’t scare me. When I think of the future, I always think of her with me in it. I always want her to be a part of my world.”
“What about possessiveness?” I ask.
“I am more possessive than you know. If you have any of those feelings for Noelle, then—”
Liam claps. “Hello, it’s my pre-wedding day. Focus on me.”
“Some things never change, do they?” My father says and leaves my side to go to Liam.
I take my phone out and begin to text Noelle.
Me: We need to talk after the wedding.
Princess: Okay.
NOELLE
I nibble on my lip as I read the message. I messed up.
“My God, if you sigh one more time, I will throw this sangria on you,” Tillie says.
I snicker and put my phone back on the table.
Tessa was supposed to join us for lunch, but she said she was waiting for a friend of hers to arrive.
Elizabeth decided that she would stay in, so Tillie and I are having lunch at a local Italian restaurant.
“What’s the problem?” Tillie asks as she pours more sangria in my glass.
“I don’t know where to start. Thank you.” I take a sip of the sangria, enjoying the fruity notes as it floats down my throat.
“Start from the beginning,” Tillie replies, like it’s that simple.
“I took this job with little expectation. I thought I would fulfill it and move on.”
Tillie chuckles. “But that old Voss charm got the better of you, and now you are in love.”
I nod. “Yes. Does that make me crazy?”
Tillie laughs, throwing her hair over her shoulders. “Girl, no. It makes you human. For what it’s worth, I think Roman loves you too.”
I perk up. “You do? Or are you trying to make me sound delusional?”
“Noelle, my cousin has smiled with you more than I have ever seen him smile in his life.”
That makes my insides warm. Maybe, just maybe, he actually does love me.
“I am not a believer in love. Both of my parents are unbearable; that’s why Ollie and I spend Christmas here. But seeing it on you and Roman gives me a little hope.”
I reach across the table and extend my hand. “Thank you for that.”
Tillie looks down at my hand in disgust. “I know this may sound like a rainbow and sunshine session, but I am not touching your hand and getting the cooties.”
“Give me your fucking hand,” I say between my teeth.
“Alright, fine.” She places her hand in mine. “Tell anyone about this, and you are dead.”
I squeeze her hand. “I promise your image is safe with me.”
Tillie smiles. “I believe it. Now let’s go find a killer dress to upstage the bride at dinner.”
I shrug. “Okay, let’s go.”
ROMAN
I take a sip of my brandy, looking out of my father’s study. Ollie, Liam, and my father are all in full conversation while I am in here looking at the picture of my grandfather hung over my father’s mantle.
Even in death the bastard looks smug. I will never understand why my father keeps his picture here. Maybe it’s a contract that they held between themselves. I don’t know. Speaking of contracts, I think about the contract that will end the day after tomorrow.
Would she stay if I asked her to? Or would she walk away?
I wonder if she was feeling the same thing I was.
What the hell was I feeling? Lust, possessiveness, happiness.
Maybe love. Am I in love? I sound like a broken record in my head.
I am definitely in something. I throw the drink back and walk to the cart to pour myself another.
Am I sad that this is all coming to an end? I don’t want it to end. Whatever this is I have with Noelle, this chaotic tangle of emotions, I want it all with her.
I throw back another drink. Suppose, like Tessa, she says that I am just a placeholder.
I don’t know if my ego can take that. Shit, I will become a hermit if she says that.
But the truth is, I was already a hermit, a rich hermit.
That’s why I needed an escort in the first place.
I had no one in my life that I wanted to share my world with until now.
I pour another drink, and as I am about to sip, my father stands by my side. “Take it easy there, Son. You are knocking those back like a man with problems.”
I grunt, neither confirming nor denying.
“When a man has problems, 99% of the time it’s a woman. You and Elle okay?”
I stare at my dad, and as always, he is that stalwart.
That reliable person that always comes through for the family.
I feel like I want to confess everything to him.
I want to tell him about Noelle and the feelings that I am developing.
Just when I am about to open my mouth, Ollie jumps off the chair.
“Tillie texted. They are coming down the stairs now.”
My dad flicks his head at Ollie. “We will be out in a bit.”
Liam frowns and stands. “Okay. Let’s go, Ollie.”
The door clicks as they leave.
“Well.” I hated the tone that came with the word “well.” It’s like, “well, what did you do?”
“Nothing. This night is about Liam. Let’s go.” I empty the contents of the glass and place it on the tray.
I hurry behind Ollie and Liam, avoiding my dad’s gaze.
Just as the three of us hit the stairs, Tillie comes downstairs in a long, light blue silk strapless dress.
As she hits the bottom of the steps, she extends her hand to her twin, who automatically takes it.
“You clean up nice,” Liam teased. “Where is Tessa?”
Tillie shrugs. “She went to the airport to pick up a friend. She will be back in a bit.”
Liam frowns and moves away. His hand digs in his pocket, and he takes out his phone. Through clenched teeth, he was talking over the phone.
I return my gaze to Tillie. “Where is Noelle?”
Tillie grins. “Right there.”
My gaze moves to the top of the stairs, and I stop breathing. I dig my hands in my pockets because they begin to shake. With each step she takes, I hold my breath. She looks unbelievable.
“Close your mouth, Roman. You will catch flies,” Tillie whispers.
I swallow. Noelle was a vision. It’s like she is dipped in liquid gold.
The dress clings to every curve of her body, but it was the tiny chain mesh that made the gown.
Cinched waist, corseted top, small chains draped over her body.
It shouldn’t be sexy, but fuck me, it is.
A high slit reveals a dark brown thigh and a delicate gold mesh.
She looks bold, feminine, and beautiful, and she was all mine.
Ollie lets out a low whistle. I give him a quick side-eye, telling him to stop.
I don’t know when I move up the stairs to get her hand, but I stand there patiently waiting for her to take it.
NOELLE
Don’t fall; reach for his hand…but damn it. Don’t be clumsy, and don’t fall. My heel snags on my dress. I stop and lift my feet. My heel was stuck on the mesh. Delicately, I hold onto the banister. However, Roman is there unhooking my shoe.
“I got you, princess,” he mutters.
Any man calling me a princess would piss me off so bad. But once Roman did it, I liked it. A lot.
“Thank you,” I mutter. His hand feels warm and safe.
“You look stunning,” Liam says with his hands stuffed in his pocket.
“Thank you.”
Roman says nothing. I wish he would say something, anything, but it’s like he is on mute.
Tillie claps. “Okay, let’s have our intimate family dinner because tomorrow is chaos.”
Liam smirks and walks behind Cliff, Tillie, and Ollie.
“You ready?” He asks. His eyes linger on my skin, then my face.
“Are you okay?” I ask, concerned that maybe he didn’t like this dress.
“Yes.”
That’s all I was getting. Short answers. He guides me to walk, but I stop. I don’t know why, but I feel like I need his approval.
“If you don’t like the dress, I have another.” I point up the stairs.
“What?” He shakes his head. “I love it.”
I frown. “You could have fooled me.”
I am pissed that he doesn’t like how I look in this dress. I really want him to like me in this dress.
I walk off with my head held high. Well, if he doesn’t like it, screw him. I love it.
“This is why people tell women to dress for themselves because—”
My body feels like it’s levitating. I am about to scream.
“Shut up.” Roman guides me to the back of a velvet curtain. His body presses against mine.
“Are you feeling that?” He groans in my ear.
Was I feeling that? The ‘that’ in question was thick and pressed against my body.
“I asked you a question, princess. Are you feeling that?”
I whisper, “Yes.”